In a world focused on maximizing productivity, multitasking has become a normalized concept to use every minute of your day efficiently. However, is multitasking truly the secret to getting more done?
Multitasking refers to attempting to complete multiple tasks simultaneously or switching between tasks quickly. Multitasking has become a common practice in our everyday lives and activities, such as talking on the phone while working or driving. However, recent studies have found that multitasking actually lowers productivity due to the brain’s inefficiency in handling multiple complex tasks at a time. Every time our brains switch from task to task there is a cognitive cost, which slows down the brain’s overall performance, therefore resulting in an increase in the time necessary to complete tasks.
While trying to complete multiple tasks at the same time, our working memory is overloaded, which reduces our ability to process and retain information. This impacts our long-term memory, negatively affecting the encoding of information into long-term memory, leading to worse recollections of events. This is especially applicable when using multiple forms of media at once, like watching television while texting someone. This affects our memory, resulting in poor comprehension and retention of the media content that we are consuming.
Additionally, mental fatigue from constant readjustment of focus increases stress and decreases feelings of satisfaction with performance despite feeling as though you are being more productive. Studies have shown that multitasking can reduce productivity by as much as 40%, as we are less efficient and more prone to error if our brains focus on more than one complex task at a time. Students who multitask throughout study sessions receive lower grades and employees who try to manage multiple tasks simultaneously are less effective.
In conclusion, multitasking is a total myth when it comes to task management and productivity. Since the brain struggles when focusing on more than one complex task, the real secret to increasing productivity is to focus on one task at a time and try to eliminate distractions to improve your performance and efficiency.